Nailer



July 19, 1960 R. c. WILSON NAILER Filed Sept. 7, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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lval R. C. WILSON July 19, 1960 ,NAILER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 7, 1954 2,945,235 NAILER Ralph C. Wilson, 675 N. Perry St., Pontiac, Mich. Filed Sept. 7, 1954, Ser. No. 454,454

'3 Claims. (Cl. 1-'45) This invention relates to hand tools and, in particular, to that type of hammer known as a nailer.

One object of this invention is to provide a nailer having a nailing head and a hollow handle containing a magazine adapted to hold driven fasteners, such as nails, and also having a feeding mechanism adapted to feed the fasteners one at a time to alocation adjacent the nailing head of the nailer. a

nited States atent F driving head 12, a hollow handle 14 attached to the head 12, a fastener magazine 16 mountedwithin the hollow handle 14, and-fastener feeding and retaining mechanism 18 adjacent the handle 14 and driving head 12 and adapted to feed the fasteners F one by one to the driving head 12. The driving head 12 consists of an elongated body 2i) having a central'portion 22 from which spaced fastener-extracting claws 24 extend upwardly and the driving portion 26 extends downwardly. The driving portion 26 has a neck 28 connecting the central portion 22 to the driving end 30. The latter is provided with a main driving surface 32 and a recess 34 therein containing a fastener head abutment 36 set back from the driving surface 3-2 by a distance shorter than the lengths of shanks of the fasteners F to be driven, as is clearly shown in Figure 1.

bores 44 and 46 is a pivot pin 48, such as a bolt, for

Another object is to provide a nailer of the foregoing character wherein the nailing head is provided with a solid and substantially unyielable abutment portion to which the fasteneris fed, thereby eliminating the breakage and faulty operation resulting from the yieldable fastener abutments used in prior magazine nailers.

Another object is to provide a nailer of the foregoing character wherein the magazine quickly and easily loaded into the space provided for it in the hollow handle and wherein the feeding mechanism is of simple construction yet positive in operation,

Another object is to provide a nailer of the foregoing character wherein it is unnecessary for the heads of the fasteners to remain accurately in the same planes, as in prior nailers, but wherein the fastener heads can overlap during operation and still be fed one at a time to the abutment on the nailing head.

Another object is to provide a nailer of the foregoing character wherein the feedingmechanism is also provided with a movable nail retainer adapted in one position to hold the fastener firmly against the nailing abutment and in another position to release the fastener so that the nailer-can be withdrawn in order to execute the finishing stroke on the fastener. j

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be come apparent during the course of the following description of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a magazine nailer according to one form of the invention, with forward and rearward portions of the handle side wall broken away to show the internal construction, the claw portion of the nailing head being omitted;

Figure 2. is a bottom plan view of the forward portion of the nailer shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an approximately horizontal section taken along the line 33 in Figure. 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a partly vertical and partly inclined section taken along the line 55 in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a rear elevation of the extreme forward end portion of the nailer of Figure 1; and

Figure 7 is a .side elevation, partly in section, similar to Figure 1 but showing the position of the parts when the trigger arm has completed its movement toward the nailer handle to feed the next nail after the previous nail has been driven. 7

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figure 1 shows a magazine nailer, generally designated 10, according to one form of the inventionas consisting generally of a pivotally supporting the feeding and retaining mechanism 18, as described below.

The central portion 22 of the driving head 12 is provided with a reversely-tapered hole 50 (Figure 1) in which the forward end of the handle 14 is secured, as by a wooden plug 52 which is split by a metal wedge 54 to expand the forward end portion 56 of the handle 14 into the tapered hole 50 and prevent removal. Rearwardly of the head 12, the hollow handle 14 is provided with an inclined resilient fastener guide 58 having a bent upper end portion 60 secured imposition by the fastener 62 against the inside of the upper wall of the handle 14, and having a resilient lower portion 64 which serves as a leaf spring extending downwardly and forwardly to the rear of the pivot pin 48 with its lower end 66 terminating adjacent a the edge of the fastener head abutment 36 (Figure 1).

The hollow handle 14 is of roughly over cross-section (Figure 4) and is open at its rearward end 68 to permit the insertion of a fastener magazine 16 which receives the load of fasteners F. The side walls 70 of the handle 14 (Figure 4) are provided with inwardly-bent retaining lugs 72 engaging beneath the flanges 74 bent inwardly from the upper wall 76 of the hollow :body 78 of the magazine 16, the body 78 having a resilient fastenerretaining detent 80 (Figure 1) in the form of a downwardly and forwardly extending leaf spring having its bent upper end 82 passing through a hole 84 in the upper wall 76 of the magazine 16 and secured thereto as by soldering. The forward end 81 of the leaf spring 80 is adapted to yield in an upward direction in order to permit the insertion of fasteners F while loading the magazine 16, as described below in connection with the operation of the invention, the leaf spring 80 returning to its position shown inFigure 1 with its forward end 84 engaging the shank of the rearmost fastener F when the magazine is fully loaded. The upper wall 76 of the magazine body 7 8 is drilled so as to be held in position by the fastener 62.

The rearward part 86 of the magazine body 76 is of hollow sheet metal of approximately C-shaped cross-section (Figure 4) while the forward part 88 thereof forms tween the locations forming the opposite ends $1 and 93 ment 36.

. I i 3 t of an elongated opening 92 (Figure 1) wide enough for the passage of the heads ofthe fasteners F. The forward and rearward edges 36 and 98; of the side walls 90 (Figure 7) respectively slant downwardly and forwardly. The forward edges 96 slantdownwardl'y approximately parallel to the resilient downwardly-slanting lower portion 64 of the fastener guide 58 at a sufficient distance therefrom to permit passage of the heads of the fasteners F downwardly and forwardly while imparting guidance thereto. The lower ends 94 of the side walls 90 of the magazine body 78 overlap and extend inside the top portions 100 of the upwardly-extending parallel side walls 102 and 104 of amovable sheet metal feed chute, generally designated 106, pivotally mounted on the pivot pin 48 between the ears 40 (Figure 5). In this manner, the shanks of the fasteners F pass smoothly downward through theopening 92 between the side walls 9 in the space between the extensions 100 of the feed chute side walls 102 and 104 ontheir way to the recess 34 in the driving end 30 adjacent the fastener head abut- The side walls 102 and 104 of the feed chute 106 are interconnected by an integral web 108 (Figures 1 and 2) near their rearward ends, whereas they are elsewhere spaced apart from one another. The side walls 102 and 104 near their lower forward ends are provided with downwardly and forwardly-inclined forward edges- 110 which serve to engage the heads of the-fasteners F as they slide downward. The side wall 104 at its lower end is provided with an integral forwardly-extending pointed tip 112 which enters the recess 34 and has an upper edge 114 engaging beneath the head of the-fastener F tohold it firmly against the fastener head abutment 36 (Figure 1). The'parallel side wall 102 of the feed chute 106, on the otherhand, terminates in a vertical forward edge portion 116 (Figures 2, 3 and 6) in order to provide a gap for sliding the mailer away from the fastener F when the latter has been driven partway into the wood by the first stroke of the nailer, ,The gap 117 (Figure 3) forwardly of the edge 116 of the side wall 102 is yieldingly closed by'a spring closure member 118 carrying a pointed approximately V-shaped tip 120 (Figure 3) of a shape-corresponding to the shape of the tip 112 and hav; ing a similar upper edge 114 adapted to hold the head of the fastener F against the fastener head abutment 36 on the opposite side thereof from the previously 'mentioned edge 114 (Figuresl and 6). V k t The rearward end of the spring closure member 118 is drilled to receive a rearward pivot 'pin 124, such as a bolt (Figure 3) which also passes through thesirnilarlydrilled feed chute side Walls 102 and 104 and through similarly drilled spacers 126 and 128, a similarly-drilled angle lever 130 and asimilarly-drilled spring anchorage bracket 132. The angle lever 130 (Figures 1 and 2) has a forward arm. 134 which is drilled at its forward end to receive the bent upper end of a link 1136, the bent lower end of which passes through the outer end of a feed lever 138 which is suitably drilled for the pur pose (Figure The central portion of the feed lever 138 is drilled to receive a pivot pin 140 mounted in the extension 142 of the sidewall104 (FigureslZ andS.) and extending through an opening 144'into the space 146 between the side wal ls 1 02 and.104. The inner end of the feed lever 1138 is provided with a notch 148 adapted to fit and engage the shank of eachifastener'Fa'sit siides downwardly through the space 146 between the side walls 102 and 104, so as to permit only one fastenerat a time to escape from the feed chute 106 (Figure 5). The

notch 148 is obviously of suflicient depth to provide sufficient clearance between the shank of eachfasterierF and. the side wall 102 to prevent jamming therebetween as the feed lever 133 swings downward. H I The rearward end of the rearward arrn150 of the glev lever 130 is drilled to receive the pivot pin 1' 52 which pivotally connects it to the lower portion 154 of an adjustable swinging link 156 (Figure .1). The lower .portion 154 is provided with'a drilled and threaded bore 158 (Figure 1') to receive the threaded lower end of the upper link portion 160 which is locked in its adjusted position by a lock nut 162. The bent upper end of the upper portion 160 of the adjustable swinging link 156 is pivotally mounted in a hole lfil in the side wall 70 of the handle 14. The side walls 102 and 104 of the feed chute 106 are drilled as at 164 to receive the bent forward end of the threaded forwardportion 166 (Figures 1 and 2) of an adjustable link 16$, the internallythreaded borei'1 69 of 'the rearward portion 170 of which adjustably receives the forward portion 166 thereof and is locked in its adjusted positiofiby the lock nut 171. The rearward end of the link portion 170 is looped around and is pivotally mounted upon a pivot pin 172 (Figure 4), such as a bolt, which in turn is mounted in the 106 11.174 (Figure 4) -of adoirbl-arrnd trigger lever, generally designated 1176. The latter has twin parallel forward arms 178 inclined upwardly and fo'rwardly with their bent upper ends pivotally entering and engagingthe aligned holes 180in the side walls 70 of the hollow handle .14. Theloops 174 are interconnected by a U-shapedrearward triggerarm 182 which extends downwardly and rearwardly in close proximity to the rearward end of-thehollow' handle 14, so as to be within reach of one of the users fingers while his hand grips the rearward end of the handle 14.

The forward end of the forward arm 134 of the bent lever 130 is provided with a bent lug 184 (Figures 1 and 2) which is drilled toreceive theforward end of a tension spring 186, the rearward end of which is hooked into the similarly bent and drilled lug 188 on the lower "end oftheispring anchorage bracket i132.

In the operation of the invention, let it be assumed that the magazine 16 has been loaded with fasteners 'F by pushing their heads into the rearward part 86 of the magazine body 78 while slipping the-m past the deflected "leaf spring 80, and that the lower end 86 of the latter hasreturn'ed to its normal position against the shank of the earnest fastener F, as shown in Figure 1. When the operator grasps the handle 14 and holds the nailer 10 with the head 12 downward, the fasteners F slide into the inclined p o'sition sshown inFigure l, with their heads guided between the downwardly-inclined forward edges of the inag aiine side walls 92 and the resilient inclined lower portion 64 of the fastener guide 58. The downward travel of thefasteners F is halted by the feed lever 138 (Figure 5), the end notch "148 of which engag es the "shank of the leading fastener F and prevents 'itfr'om moving'further. I e To feed a fastener Ft'oythe recess 34 in the driving 'headend'30, the operator hooks one end of his fingers ar'ouud th'e trigger 182 of the trigger lever 176 and pulls' it upward toward the handle 14 withhis finger (Figure 7), action swings the forward arms 178 thereof 'rearwardly around their pivot holes 180, this rearward motion beingtran smitted to the feed chute 106 by the link lfis, The j feed Q'chut'e 106 thereby swings, upwardly and rearwardly around theipivot pin'48 mounted in he em. .4 of t e s l rm vi e s e tips 112 and 're arwardly out of and away fromthe V- shaped recess 34 in the head end 30 so 'asto open up a space'for receiving a'" fastener (Figure 7 At the same t wal nc i d t wadi d s 1101 m e chute 106 move away fromfthe. inclined resilientfastener guide portion 64 so "as to likewis'e'provide'a w idening of the space .th erebe tween for 'the 'descentiof'the fasteners F. A, h '.f fhut 1 11 1 m v s er d y and 1 wardly ina clockwisedirection around the forward pivot pin'48, 'the con'sequent upward and rearward'swingiu'g of the rearward pivot .pin 124 thereof and the rearward "wise direction around unwrap-111124 while it is being carried bodily upwardly and rearwardly on the feed chute 106 as the latter swings around its own forward pivot pin 48. This action swings the rearward pivot pin 124 upward While the rearward arm 150 of the bent lever 130 is being held down by the rearwardly-swinging adjustable link 156, thereby swinging the forward arm 134 thereof upward. The consequent upward and rearward motion of the link 136 (Figure 7) swings the feed lever 138 in a clockwise direction (Figure around its pivot pin 140, moving its notched forward end 148 downward through the space 146 and carrying with it the fastener F Whose shank is temporarily resting within the notch 148. This action releases the foremost fastener F from the notch 148 while barring the descent of the following fastener F for the time being.

The released fastener F slides down the inclined forward edges 110 of the feed chute side walls 102 and 104 into the space between the upper edges 114 and 122 of the V-shaped tips 112 and 120, permitting the head of the fastener to pass between these upper edges 114 and the fastener abutment 36. The fastener F halts when its head engages the inner end of the recess 34 but cannot fall off the ends 112, 120 because the radius of its head exceeds the width of the gap therebetween (Figure 7), as regulated by the proper adjustment of the threaded parts 166, 169, 170 of the adjustable link 168. The operator then releases the trigger arm 182 of the double lever 176, which returns to the position shown in Figure 1 under the influence of the tension spring 186, at the same time swinging the feed chute 106 clockwise around the forward pivot pin 48 and causing the upper edges 114 of the tips 112 and 120 thereof to force the head of the foremost fastener F firmly into engagement with the fastener abutment 36 with its shank hanging downward in a position ready for driving (Figure 1). Meanwhile the release of the trigger arm 182 and the consequent reversal of the above-described motions causes the link 136 (Figure 5) to move downward, swinging the feed lever 138 in a counterclockwise direction so that thenotch 148 in its inner end moves upward and permits the shank of the second fastener F to drop into the notch 148, ready for the next feeding action after the first fastener F has been driven.

The operator then swings the handle 14 and driving head 12 upwardly and rearwardly in an arc, then downwardly and forwardly to engage the driving surface 32 of the driving end 30 thereof with the firstfastener F so as to driveit into the wood or other material into which it is to be driven. The main driving surface 32 serves as a stop to prevent the complete driving in of the shank of the first fastener F if the stroke is powerful enough to cause a suflicient penetration of the shank of the first fastener F. To release the nailer 10 from engagement with the head and exposed portion of the shank of the partly driven fastener F, the operator swings the head 12 of the nailer 10 sidewise to the right (i.e. out from the plane of the paper in Figure 1), causing the tip 120 on the spring arm 118 to move outward away from the end 116 of the side wall 102 (Figures 2, 3 and 6), permitting the fastener to pass through the gap thereby opened between the edge 116 and the wall of the notch 34.

With the nailer 10 thus detached from the partly driven first fastener F, the operator completes the driving of the latter by bringing the end 30 of the head 12 downward upon it while using the nailer 10 as a hammer in the usual way. Subsequent fasteners F are driven in the same manner and fed to the notch 34 successively for partial driving. It will be observed that since the fas; tener abutment 36 is a solid, integral and unyielding portion of the driving end 30 of the driving head 12, it is strong and resistant to the hammering action caused by the blows during driving.

What I claim is:

1. A magazine nailer comprising a handle member, a nail driving head member on said handle member having a nail driving end with a nail driving surface thereon, said head member having a nail head abutment disposed adjacent said nail driving surface but spaced rearwardly away from said nail driving surface by a distance shorter than the lengths of shanks of the nails to be driven, a nail magazine secured to said handle and including a stationary nail chute extending forwardly toward said abutment but spaced away from said abutment, a movable nail feed chute movably connected to one of said members and having an open rearward end communicating with the forward end of said stationary nail chute and having an open forward end movable into close proximity to said abutment, a nail feeder movable in said movable nail feed chute into and out of nail feeding engagement with nails in said movable nail feed chute, and operating means under the control of the user for moving said movable nail feed chute relatively to said stationary nail chute toward and away from said abutment and also for moving said nail feeder relatively to said movable nail feed chute.

2. A magazine nailer according to claim 1, wherein said nail feeder comprises a lever having a portion thereof projecting into and movable along said movable nail feed chute in engagement with a nail in said movable nail chute.

3. A magazine nailer according to claim 1, wherein an elongated resilient nail head holddown member is disposed adjacent said movable nail feed chute and extends therealong in resilient engagement with the heads of nails in said movable nail feed chute into close proximity to said abutment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 472,374- Lewis Apr. 5, 1892 563,402 Nickloy July 7, 1896 582,103 Smith May 4, 1897 599,741 Savage Mar. 1, 1898 1,052,368 Nelson Feb. 4, 1913 1,059,186 McKean Apr. 15, 1913 1,135,784 Faulkner Apr. 13, 1915 1,163,409 Jacoby Dec. 7, 1915 1,678,598 King July 24, 1928 2,056,571 Eller Oct. 6, 1936 

